Castles

Archaeologists are puzzled by the discovery of a wall and "circular feature" inside the Great Hall area of Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, England. The mysterious ruins might be part of an 18th Century gardener's cottage, or they might be part of the original medieval hall.

SCAdians Char Branstetter and Cara McCandless longed to live their dream of owning a real castle, so they built one — in Pittsburgh! Patterned after Bodiam castle near Hastings in southern England, the structure includes wooden framing with a stone veneer.

Odescalchi Castle, the site of the November 18, 2006 nuptials of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, is a 15th century residence with a great deal of history including the family of Pope Innocent XI and a murderous noblewoman.

The United Nations cultural body UNESCO has warned that the Tower of London may be in danger of losing its World Heritage status, and has asked the United Kingdom to submit by 2007 a report on measures being taken to protect the Tower.

Recent bombing and a resulting oil spill in Lebanon have damaged two World Heritage sites, says an inspection team from UNESCO. Roman remains at Tyre and a medieval tower at Byblos are in urgent need of repair.

Welcome to the modern Middle Ages! Researchers and craftsmen are working together to construct an authentic medieval castle in the forests of Burgundy, France. Ten years into the project, Guedelon Castle is about 1/3 completed.

Channel 4's Time Team may have discovered evidence of the existence of the original round table at Windsor Castle. The team has found some evidence of a round structure built by Edward III constructed to house the table and the original 300 Knights of the Garter.

Several years ago, Glynn Mapes of the Wall Street Journal wrote this wonderful article about Hew Kennedy, a wealthy eccentric in Shropshire, England, who entertains himself and his guests by hurling everthing from grand pianos to automobiles hundreds of meters through the air, using a trebuchet he and a friend built.

Researchers excavating a site in Bolsterstone, England believe they may have found the home of Robin Hood. Experts base their claim on the belief that the mythical Robin Hood was based on the son of the Earl of Huntingdon.

The recent telecast of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy which featured a member of MSR's Kingdom of Acre has generated a great deal of discussion on the various lists. Richard Blackmoore shares some additional information about the setting for the feast featured during the program.

The Australian reports that sections of the King's Table, an elaborately-carved stone table used for English coronation feasts and state banquets as far back as the 13th century, have been found under the floor of the Palace of Westminster.

The popular Romanian tourist attraction Bran Castle, associated with Vlad the Impaler and known as "Dracula's Castle," has been returned to the heir of the Habsburg family. The state had seized the castle when Communist rule began in Romania after World War II.

In the market for a genuine Welsh castle? Granted, it was built in 1819, but Gwyrch Castle, located near Abergele in north Wales, is still a crenellated, towered and turreted wonder of architecture on 40 acres of land.

After decades of searching, the ruins of the Bishop of Glasgow's palace have been discovered outside the city. The 13th century building stood for three centuries before being destroyed in the Reformation.

Students from three Cornish schools today supported the Royal Cornwall Museum's (in partnership with English Heritage) new initiative to develop an exciting interactive learning experience today in Truro.

Several castles in Scotland were either built from new — Lochmaben, in Dumfriesshire — or substantially rebuilt and extended — Roxburgh, in the Scottish Borders — by the English during the Wars of Independence of the 14th century. But there is one famous English castle that can claim to be Scottish.

The crumbling tower of the 15th century Newark Castle was the scene of one of the bloodiest incidents between the English and the Scots. Now the UK's biggest private landowner, the Duke of Buccleuch, has agreed to take on the task of preserving the monument.